Monthly Archives: February 2025

I will make rhapsodies from grains of sleep.

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Dorothea Tanning, the Surrealist artist and writer, who made it from the small town of Galesburg, Illinois, to the center of New York’s avant-garde art world, lived until she was 101, but she never got the major museum survey she … Continue reading →

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One word of truth outweighs the world

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

To stand up for truth is nothing. For truth, you must sit in jail. You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But … Continue reading →

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Black History

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The Black History Month Map is a new collaborative and dynamic map developed by kinkofa and PamPam to honor and document the significant places, individuals, and movements that have shaped Black history. To help you explore the invaluable contributions of Black Americans … Continue reading →

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Taste of London

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

A team of four highly skilled photographers has created a mesmerizing flow motion timelapse of London, deploying novel techniques to tell the story of the U.K. capital. A Taste of London is the fifth installment of FilmSpektakel’s long-running A Taste of series  … Continue reading →

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Going In Style

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I finally managed to see Wim Wender’s superb film Perfect Days. This truly moving and heartfelt movie centers on a Tokyo resident who is employed cleaning a set of special public toilets in the Shibuya City district. If you haven’t seen it, … Continue reading →

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How we live now (almost)

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been more than a year since I read Paul Lynch’s Booker Prize winning novel Prophet Song, but I’ve been thinking more and more about it lately. Prophet Song takes place in an alternate Dublin. Members of the newly formed secret … Continue reading →

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Writer’s Dog

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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The Trial

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the posthumous publication of Franz Kafka’s chilling novel of the nightmare world of authoritarian repression and merciless bureaucracy. I remember reading the book only after I saw Orson Welles’ chilling film production. Somehow … Continue reading →

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First there is a mountain…

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is Taranaki Maunga, or Mount Taranaki, has peaked to sentience—at least in a legal sense. … Continue reading →

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Would You Pay to Stay in a Shipping Container

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Researching hotel accommodations for an upcoming Japan trip has resulted in some unusual options. One of the oddest is Hotel R9 The Yard. This chain with the industrial-sounding name is notable for its unique lodgings, which are made out of storage … Continue reading →

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